Top Consumer Tech Trends That Will Hit Us In 2018

Often times things that seem improbable one year can quickly start becoming possible only a few years later. This means that innovation is no longer seasonal or part of a certain stage in a business. It’s always there, and it’s right now.

Stressful as it sounds, the upside is that there’s always huge opportunity for the digital enterprises. Before they know it, they might just hit the market and make a splash.

The tech trends of 2018

It is almost 2018 now. 2017 is just about over. We had lots of crazy stuff come out in 2017, and we believe 2018 is going to be just as exciting.

If you are someone who is interested in technology, or you want to open a new tech store, then you must know the top consumer tech trends that will hit us in 2018.

That’s why we decided to take a deep dive and give our most informed predictions. So, without further ado, let’s start our list and take a look at the top consumer tech trends that 2018 have in store for us.

#1 Business Automation Tools

Our first prediction is that 2018 is going to be a big year for the business automation technology.

We have already seen robotic advisors and employees in many businesses. Especially businesses in financial management are now relying on automation software to make data easily available for everyone.

If we look back, business automation solutions were not affordable to most businesses a couple of years ago. But now things have changed. Today, the business automation market has many investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and large organisations alike.

The potential applications of this technology are relatively unexplored, but with more research, it is going to become massive next year.

#2 Artificial Intelligence

According to a recent Bloomberg report, market leaders like Google, Facebook and Amazon are going to invest heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2018.

We hear a lot about smart speakers. Everyone of these companies has launched a smart speaker. And everyone of these companies has launched digital assistance, whether it’s Google Assist, Siri or Cortana.

Why are they focused on this? The reason is that they want to own the frontend between AI and the users.

So there’s going to be a huge opportunity for the businesses to invest in artificial intelligence too.

In the words of David Verhaag, VP of Consumer Success at Kahuna:

“This hyper-focus on technology-fueled marketing has also had an immense impact on other types of technology, evolving artificial intelligence from the niche of science fiction to the newest must-have technology of today”

#3 Virtual Reality

Forget computers, mobile phones and other traditional technology. Today, we are faced with an entirely different investment. Some might even say it’s a “virtual reality”.

A big survey by UBS Internet Analyst shows that consumer interest in Virtual Reality and Virtual Gaming has started to grow rapidly in countries such as China, Japan, UK and the US.

Virtual reality gaming is the fastest growing market in the world. It has many, many investment opportunities.

#4 Smart Homes/Home Automation

The home automation market is already exploding. We know that the Amazon Echo has been very popular this year. Also, Google jumped into the game with e.g. Google Home.

So, we predict that many more companies will start investing in home automation, smart home apps and smart home integration.

The questions is what areas of our home will be made “smarter” next, and how this will happen.

#5 Cyber Security

And speaking of technology being integrated into our lives, we’re convinced that cyber security will be really big in 2018. Maybe the biggest tech trend of them all.

At this point in time password breaches are almost to be expected. It could be a matter of time before your favourite website gets hacked.

The cyber security companies – and those that are able to invent new innovative security technologies – are going to be huge.

Cyber security is going to be a big seller in 2018.

#6 Smart Cars and Smart Technology

Another big consumer trend that we will see progress further in 2018 is the smart car technology. Not just self-driving cars. They might take another 5 years before we see them hit the market at scale.

But there are many other aspects of technology integration into cars, including the cars getting better at guiding drivers automatically regarding routes, weather, and numerous other things. Cars are quickly becoming large computers.

We’re predict that we’re going to experience an exponential increase in what your cars can do. An increase bigger than what most expect. So after all, maybe the autonomous vehicles will arrive sooner than expected.

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The age of technology has strengthened the businesses and the way we live our lives. Consumers will reward the businesses that bring about the innovations that make a tangible difference in their lives.

Also, new billionaires are going to emerge among today’s tech entrepreneurs. We believe the next technology leaps will happen within the above mentioned tech trends.